Friends and fellow classmates of a transgender student at the City College of San Francisco have raised more than $23,000 after his estranged parents refused to claim his body, NBC News reports.

Daine Grey, 22, took his own life on July 2. A GoFundMe page was launched to help raise money for Grey's funeral costs. Lady Katerina, the manager of City College of San Francisco's Queer Resource Center, created the page.

"Our Queer Community lost one of their bright stars," Lady Katerina wrote. "We need help in providing Final Dignity Rites for Daine. As you know funeral expenses are expensive especially when someone had nothing. Please help share the love and give Daine his Dignity."

As of this writing, more than $23,000 has been raised, surpassing the $17,000 goal.

Lady Katerina and others who knew Grey say life had been difficult for the student over the last few months. The school's Queer Resource Center, where Grey spent a lot of his time during the school year, was closed for the summer. Though he had a job on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay, those who knew Grey say he was down, according to NBC News.

Grey, who had come out as trans in September 2017, posted around the time that he was worried he wouldn't be accepted.

After coming out, Grey told friends at the Queer Resource Center his family disowned him, Lady Katerina said. Knowing his family situation, she said she decided to contact the coroner's office two weeks after Grey died. She said no one from his family collected his remains and that's when she decided to start a GoFundMe page.

"As of July 16th his parents, who have disowned him, have been notified have yet to claim the body," Lady Katerina wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Tomorrow is day 10 of parents not responding to SF Coroner and as a community, we can claim the body."

NBC News reports they contacted Grey's parents, Stephanie and Peter Haught, who are separated from each other and estranged Stephanie Haught told NBC News she had not spoken with Grey since hew as 16 and only learned that he was trans via Facebook - just days before he died. She said his father told her that he would claim Grey's body but Peter Haught declined to speak with NBC News about his son's death.

NBC News also reports Stephanie Haught and Lady Katerina are now working together to plan a funeral service for Grey.